Evaluating Confucius Institute-Nanyang Technological University (CI-NTU) as an instrument of Chinese soft power

With China’s growing influence on the international stage, its soft power instruments are attracting closer scrutiny. The establishment of Confucius Institutes (CI) around the world is among one of China’s most controversial soft power instruments to date. While it has faced much criticism in the we...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chan, Wei, Peh, Min Hui, Sim, Rachael Xsuen
Other Authors: Wu Wei
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139513
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:With China’s growing influence on the international stage, its soft power instruments are attracting closer scrutiny. The establishment of Confucius Institutes (CI) around the world is among one of China’s most controversial soft power instruments to date. While it has faced much criticism in the west, little research has been conducted in Singapore. As such, this paper aims to examine the operations and impacts of CI-NTU to evaluate the effectiveness of the institution in expanding China’s soft power. Through qualitative interviews with CI-NTU graduates, staff members of CI-NTU, and Singaporeans with no pre-existing knowledge of CI- NTU, our findings revealed that CI-NTU is employable as a soft power strategy due to its autonomous operating model that differs widely from other CIs in the world but is limited in the impact that it has on changing perceptions as well as the demographic that it appeals to.